Telephone apparatus.



JAMES HARRY THOMPSON, OF TREN'LON, NEW JERSEY. l.

TELEPHONE APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1s, 190s.

Application filed December 30, 1907. Serial No. 408,682.

To all Iwhom 'it ma .1/ concern:

Be it known that l, Jfmns Hanni' Tuonr- SON, citizen of the Vnited States, residing at Trenton, inthe county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Telephone Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has to do with telephones; and it has for its object to provide at a point intermediate the bell-box and the desk set of a telephone apparatus, a device calculated to pay out the connecting wires incident to the movement of the desk set away from the. bell-:box so as to permit of thedesk set being used at different points in an apartment, and

also adapted to take up slack of the said wires as the desk set is moved 'toward the bell-box, this with a view of keeping the wire taut between the bell-box andthe desk set vquent injury of the wires during the use of the desk set is precluded.

"Vith the foregoing in mind the invention .will be fully understood from the following` description and claims when the same are read in connection with the drawings, accompanyingand forming part of this specification, in which:

Figure l is an elevation illustrating the preferred arrangement of my novel device, relative to the bell-box of a telephone apparatus. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the device. Fig. 3 is a horizontal'section taken through the device in, a plane above the working part-s thereof. Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation of the drum comprised in the .device and showing the removable segment at one side of said drum, and: Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing said segment as removed..

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawingseferring to which:

A is the bell-box of a telephone apparatus, which maybe of the conventional or any other suitable construction, and B is the casing of my novel device'which is located at a suitable distance. from the bell-boxfand is preferably, though not necessarily, arranged in the saine horizontal plane as the box, al'ter the manner illustrated in Fig. l. The front wall of the said easing B preferably comprises two separable sections (l and a bushing b interposed between and held b v the contiguous portions of the said sectionsfl. and made up of two semi-circular sections'. The side wall of the easing nearest the bell-box A is preferably made up of a section b separable from a fixed' section i12, and a sectional bushing c arranged and held between the sections b and b`-. ln the interior of the easing and in grooves d formed in the upper and lower walls thereof is a partition made up of sections e. which are separable and a sectional bushing ln this connection it will be noted lthat the sectional walls and bushings described permit of my novel device being attached to thewires intermediate the bellbox and a desk set without entailing disconneetion of the said wires 'from either the bellbox or the-desk-set. The bushings described may be :of any suitable material, it not being essential to make the same of insulating material inasmuch as the wires between av bellbox and a desk setare ordinarily covered lvend to the casing and at its opposite end to a shaft E, and is arranged to be put under tension by rotation of the said shaft in one direction. and to serve to expand and rotate the shaft in theopposite direction. On'the said shaft E is fixed a spur gear F, and with the said spur gearis intermeshed'a pinion G, fixed on a shaft H which, like the shaft E, is journaled in the frame C. The said shaft H, however, extends laterally from the frame C, as best shown in Fig. 2, and on its extended portion is fixed by a set screw h or other suitable means, a drum I which is. preferably flanged as shown. The said drum I may he made of any material suitable to its purpose, and in lthepreferred embodiment of my invention it comprises a body i having a central bore and a radial groove k which comnmunicates .at its inner end with the said bore '7, and a removable segment l set in one side of thebody i, as best shown inFig. 4, and formmg part of the walls ofthe bore and the 'radial'groove 7c. AThefsaid removable seg ment l 1s detachably fixed in. the body i, preferablyby screws m, Fig. 4, and by virtue of thevprovision of the said removable segment7 it will be seen that the drum I, like the bushings before described, is adapted to receive thewires intermediate the bell-box A and the-desk set (not shown)withoutentailf ing disconnection of said wires from either the bell-boxer the desk set,

From the bellboii` A* thefwires whichare lettered M arec'arried through the bushing c,

the'bushingj',V and the b ore'j-and radial passa e lc of the I, in the, order named, after being-carried around the drum, are passed through: thebushing b and "oil to .the `desk set` to .`which" they are connected in lthe conventional or anyother suitable man-v ner. In adjusting my improvementafthe gojwi'res intermediate the bellbox A and they ldrurn I'are twisted in the directionopposite to thatin which the drum rotates to pay of? the'l Wires one-half as many times'as the drum is re uired yto rotate in 'said' direction, so that ast e drum rotates in payin voft the wires, the-saidportions of the-wires etw'een `'bell-boxl and the drum are in the same direction aswtvhe drum rotates.I For instance if it is necessaryjfor the drum to make six complete revolutions VAto pay out the wires from the cas l B, the-'wires whenplaced bev tween thebelI-box -and the drum I are twisted three times in the direction opposite to that in which the drumrotates to pay ofi the wires. Then' when-the wires are c ntirely fed 0E tlie drum, the wiresibetween the bell-box and the drum are twisted three times in the same direction las the drum rotates-,to pay off the Wires. Thisassures a minimum twist vof the wires'and prolon s the usetulness of thev wires and my novel evice as a whole'and consequently constitutes .an important'i'eature of my invention.-

` In the use of my improvements it will be understood. that the desk set connected to theI wires that extend through the bushing b may be carried to and conveniently used at .various points in an apartment,A and that when the desk set is carried away from the casing B,` the ,springD is put under tensionl with, the` result that when the desk set is carried vtoward the casing B the spring will o f yeratefto rotate the drum I and thereby ta e up the slack of the said; Wires or portions of wires. The'working parts of my improvements lwill in fact keepgthe portions of the wires between thecasing'B and the desk set at" all times taut, and in that way will avoid the anno ance ofthe Wires hanging loose and the resu ting liability of the wires being;

damaged or operatingto drag papers and 1oilther unfastened objects from desks and the i N otwithstiandino1 the practical advantages which I have ascribed to'my improvements, it will be appreciated that the said improvep ments are simple and inexpensive in construction and are adapted to be expeditiously and easily installed, and all of the working parts of the improvements are well adapted to withstand the usage to which devices of corresponding kind are ordinarily subjected.

Theconstruction herein illustrated and der scribed vconstitutes the best practical em bodiment of my-invention of which I am, cognizant, but it is obvious that in the future practice of the invention such changes or v 'modifications maybe made las fairly'. fall within the scope of my invention as de ined in the claims append d,

Having jdescribed my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent,

1. The combination in a telephone apparatus,z of a bell-box, wires connected with the bell-'box and adapted to beconnected with a desk set or the like, and a device having sections arranged to receive the Wires between them and to guide said wires and also having a drum and a spring connected with the drum,l they drum comprising a body and a portion ,detachably connected with the body and arv ranged to hold the wir-esto the body, and the spring being arranged to be put under tension 'by the drawing of the wires oil the drum and also arranged )vhen the pull on the wires is released to rotate the drum and thereby take up slack of the Wires. i v

2. In an apparatus for the purpose de scribed, thel combination of wires, and a device having separable,sections` arranged to receive the wires between them and to guide said Wires and also having a drum and a p spring connectedwith the drum; "the drum comprising a body and a portion detachably connected with the body and arranged to hold the 'wires to the body, and the spring being arranged to be put under tension by the drawing of the wires oli the drum and also arranged when the pull on theV wires is ,released to rotate the drum and thereby take up slack'of the Wires.-

3. The combination in an apparatus for the purpose described,` of a drum, a s ring connected with the drum and arrange to be put under tension by rotation. of the drum in one A direction and to' rotate the. drum, when released, in the opposite direction, and wires leading froma fixed point of connection to the center of the drum and lfrom thence to l the periphery ofthe drumythe portions of` the wires intermediate the fxxedpoint of conf nection and `the drum` being twisted in, the'. direction opposite to ,that in ,which the drum when t@ par 9H; ther/ ire see-helfe naar! times as the drum is'required to' rotate in said direction, for the purpose set forth.

- 4The combination in a telephone apparatus, of a i'iXed bell-box, a drum fixed relative to the bell-box, a spring arranged to be vput under tension by rotation of the drum in one direction and to rotate the drum, when released, in the opposite direction, and Wires 1 leading from the bell-box to the center ofthe drum; the portions of the Wires intermediate drum an d from thence to the periphery of the the bell-jboX and the drum being twisted in the direction opposite to that-in Which the drum rotates to pay ofi the Wires oneJhali` as mote' from the bell-box, a spring also located in said chamber and arranged to be put under tension by rotation of the drum in one direction and to rotate the drum, when released, in the opposite direction, and Wiresleading from the bell-boxl through the chamber of the casing adjacent to the bell-box and to the center of the drum and from thence to the periphery of the drum; the portions of the wires intermediate the bell-box and the drum being twisted iii/the direction opposite to that in which the drum rotates to pay off f the Wires one-half as many times as the drum is required to rotate in said direction, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Wit nesses.

'JAMES HARRY THOMPSON.

Witnesses:`

FRED S. WILSON, RoBT; J. SToKEs. 

